Turning sunlight, water, and CO2 into valuable bio-based chemicals
Clever Combination of Synthetic Compartmentalization, Carbon Fixation and Compound Biomanufacturing
Biological Solar-To-X Technologies
C5 combines metabolic engineering with synthetic cellular organelles to revolutionize the sustainable production of bio-isoprene—a key chemical used in materials, pharmaceuticals, and speciality chemicals.
The C5 project is funded under the call “Solar-to-X devices for the decentralized prosumption of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials as climate change mitigation pathway”.
Grant Agreement ID
101223091
Start Date
1 November 2025
End Date
31 October 2029
Funded under
The European Innovation Council
EU Contribution
€ 3 930 291,98
Scientific Innovations
C5 unites three breakthrough innovations that transform how sunlight, CO₂ and water are turned into isoprene—more efficiently, more cleanly, and with far less environmental impact.
GED Cycle
A New CO2 Fixation Engine
Our cyanobacteria will feature a more efficient CO2-fixation route — the GED cycle — as replacement for the slow, energy-intensive Calvin cycle. This new “carbon engine” increases overall photosynthetic performance and carbon utilization.
A Synthetic Organelle
Compartmentalised Metabolism
C5 builds a synthetic organelle that co-localizes key enzymes, protects the cell from toxic intermediates, and boosts catalytic efficiency. This compartmentalization creates a powerful micro-reactor that accelerates both CO2 fixation and isoprene biosynthesis.
Simple Harvesting
A Clean, Direct Route to Bio-Isoprene
C5’s redesigned pathways enable the direct production of isoprene, which naturally evaporates from the cells and can be harvested from the gas phase. This eliminates biomass processing and reduces energy demand.
Together, these three innovations form a fully integrated Solar-to-X platform.
By validating the system at TRL 4 in dedicated photobioreactors, C5 will demonstrate that CO2 fixation, compartmentalised metabolism and clean isoprene recovery can operate seamlessly in a scalable, industry-relevant environment—an essential step toward future commercial deployment.
Latests Updates
Transforming Bio-manufacturing
Today, isoprene—the building block of synthetic rubber, adhesives and many everyday materials—is still produced through polluting, fossil-derived processes. C5 aims to change that.
Our system produces bio-isoprene directly from sunlight, CO2 and water, eliminating fossil feedstocks, cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 50%, and avoiding the heavy downstream processing typical of conventional biomanufacturing.
And this breakthrough is only the beginning. The same tools that make C5’s Solar-to-Isoprene pathway possible—enhanced CO2 fixation, a synthetic organelle and gas-phase product recovery—can be adapted to produce many other sustainable chemicals, fuels and materials.
Experts Across Disciplines
The C5 consortium combines leading expertise in cyanobacterial engineering, enzyme evolution, industrial bioprocessing, sustainability assessment, and innovation management. The team includes many higher education establishments and a small and medium-sized enterprise.
